by Kyoko Hasegawa Kyoko Hasegawa
1 hr 5 mins ago
TOKYO (AFP) – Public support for Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has sunk below 30 percent, in part because of a simmering row with Washington over a US base, according to opinion polls released Monday.
One poll found that half of the voters surveyed said Hatoyama should resign if he fails to hammer out a solution to the dispute over where the controversial base on the island of Okinawa should be relocated.
The surveys were released as the centre-left leader headed to Washington for an international nuclear summit, where he said he hoped to raise the base issue in informal talks with US President Barack Obama.
A poll by private broadcaster Nippon Television said the approval rating for Hatoyama's seven-month-old government had fallen to to 28.6 percent, down 7.6 points from the previous month.
Almost half of the more than 2,000 voters questioned by Nippon TV said Hatoyama should step down if he cannot find a solution to the row over where to relocate the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
Another poll by TV Asahi put support for Hatoyama's cabinet at 28.5 percent, down 1.5 percent from last month.
Hatoyama's government has also come under attack over political donations scandals and its management of the economy, but most criticism has focused on the base row and the premier's perceived dithering on the issue.
Ties between Tokyo and Washington have been strained by the question of where to move the base, now located in an urban area on Okinawa where many residents complain of aircraft noise and other problems.
Hatoyama's government has launched a review of a 2006 pact to move the base to a quieter coastal region of Okinawa, where locals also oppose it, and said it may be moved elsewhere in Japan or even outside the country.
The United States has repeatedly urged Japan to stick to the original deal, saying it was the best solution to ease the burden for Okinawa while maintaining the defence of Japan and security in the region.
Japanese media reports have said Obama did not agree to a formal meeting with Hatoyama during his visit to Washington but the prime minister said he would have an informal meeting.
"I think I'll be able to discuss various issues with President Obama informally," Hatoyama told reporters before leaving Japan.
"I plan to tell him, let's cooperate so that we'll be able to reach a conclusion" on the issue by late May, Hatoyama's self-imposed deadline.
Okinawa, which saw some of the bloodiest battles of World War II, hosts more than half of the 47,000 US forces in Japan. Of the 85 US military facilities in the country, 33 are on Okinawa or tiny neighbouring islands.
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